"boiling" A Kit? Confused!

[Brent_in_Sydney]

Hi all,

Newbie question:

I've been reading up on various kit/extract based recipes and several refer to things like "coopers pale ale kit" plus x amount of malt and to add hops at 15mins into "the boil"...
I've just made my first batch and the morgans tin specifically says not to let it get over 70C, so it didnt bubble/boil...

Q: Do you actually let an extract kit get hot enough on the stove to bubble with the hops in it? Wouldnt this burn off sugars or chance getting burnt sugars on the bottom of the pot?
Or by "boil" do they just mean "on the stove" but under whatever temperature guidelines the kit provides?

Appreciate clearing this up! Probably over-thinking it...
Regards,
Brent

 

[Bribie G]

No need to boil the kit, it's been boiled to buggery during manufacture anyway :icon_cheers:
What your instructions refer to is adding extra malt (light dried malt extract, liquid malt extract or the liquid you get when you have steeped crystal malts) and boiling this portion with the hops to extact flavour and aroma.

What's the exact recipe?

 

[Brent_in_Sydney]

So looking at a JS golden ale type recipe and its calling for
- Morgans "Golden Sheaf Wheat" extract kit
- 1kg powdered wheat malt
- 2 packs of cascade finishing hops

So I figured you get a pot on the stove, add 4L water and boil to sanitze
then cool a bit
before adding the morgans kit and stir that in.

Then add the malt stirring to dissolve

finishing hops steeped in sanitized mugs nearby.

Pitch it the wort into the fermenter then the hops then top up with cold/hot water to reach 23L at 22-24C (depending on yeast) before pitching the yeast in.

That's the recipe although Im thinking I'll replace the cascade with amarillo hops from the other JSGA threads. Using "rockstar" US-05 dried yeast.

 

[Bribie G]

The Morgan's kit doesn't need sanitising, just the tin opener - place the tin in very hot water for half an hour beforehand and it will be more runny.

If the wheat malt extract has been repacked at a LHBS it might have been sneezed over or something, so may be an idea to boil briefly in 4L of water then cover the pot tightly and cool in laundry sink etc. If it's a name brand in a sealed bag I wouldn't personally worry, just dissolve in kettle water in a pan and cool.

Stir the kit into this (if you still have room - a cheap stockpot is a great asset in any brewery) then pour into fermenter, rinse out pot and tin and pour in as well then top up with cold tap water.
So that's all your fermentables in the fermenter.

With those hop tea bags I'd just follow instructions, if I remember rightly you just put them in a cup of boiling kettle water like a "real" tea bag for 10 mins to get them going, then pitch them into fermenter.

I made heaps of kits n bits and, unless I had good reason I never boiled anything. :icon_cheers:

 

[Brent_in_Sydney]

Brilliant - thanks for clearing it all up!!

 

[katzke]

Well, will fog it up a bit.

Take some table sugar and dissolve it in water. Then do the same and use boiling hot water. Cover the 2 containers and let set on the kitchen counter. See which one clouds up first. Fun science experiment.

I will always boil repacked malt syrup or any dry extract. As to what to do with hop tea bags I will leave that to those that have used them.